Wolf struck by vehicle in Stevens County

An uncollared male wolf was struck and killed by a vehicle last weekend in Stevens County.

The Stevens County Sheriff’s Office received a call about the animal at 6:24 a.m. Saturday. The wolf was found on U.S. Highway 395 near Kettle Falls. The Sheriff’s Office doesn’t know if the wolf was hit accidentally or deliberately.

Wolf collisions aren’t common, but they do happen here, said Staci Lehman, communications manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Eastern Washington region. A truck driver hit a wolf about a year ago in the area.

Lehman noted that crossing U.S. Highway 395 is “a risky prospect” for wildlife. Deer, bears and cougars are frequent roadkill victims along the highway.

Fish and Wildlife estimates there are fewer than 200 wolves in the state, but most of those animals are in packs north of Spokane.

“It really is wolf country,” Lehman said.

Lehman said that because this wolf wasn’t collared, Fish and Wildlife doesn’t know what pack it might have come from.

Vehicle collisions with wolves are a relatively new phenomenon in Washington. There weren’t any officially documented packs here from the 1930s until 2008. With the state population increasing by about 28% a year, it’s possible drivers will run into more wolves.

“Some people are really concerned about how fast the wolf population is growing,” Lehman said. “But at this point (144 wolves) doesn’t seem like an alarming number.”

Fish and Wildlife will release a new wolf population report at the end of April.